For my DIY excursion for the month of February, I went to Shakespeare and Company in Paris. I expected an ordinary bookstore but to my surprise, it was one of the most adorable bookstores I have ever been to! On the outside of Shakespeare and Company, you are bombarded by books! You are not allowed to take photos inside the bookstore, so we decided to take some outside. The store looks like something out of a movie! When you enter the store, you feel as though you have just entered another world. There are books stacked to the ceiling all around you. Your eyes are drawn to every small detail. I admired all the unique posters. Under the staircase leading to the second floor, I found a small poster from my favorite movie Roman Holiday featuring Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck. What a wonderful surprise!
On the second floor is the reading area. There are thousands of books that you are allowed to read in a very cozy setting. The books on the second floor are also much older than the books on the first floor.
Later on, I learned that the first Shakespeare and Company opened November 19, 1919, by Sylvia Beach Whitman. The bookstore was known for being the gathering place of writers like Ernest Hemingway and Djuna Barnes. It later closed in 1941 and was never reopened. The second location (the one we went to) was opened in 1951 by George Whitman. Whitman originally called the store “Le Mistral” but renamed it “Shakespeare and Company” in 1964 as a tribute to Sylvia Beach’s store and the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s birth.
It was so much fun getting lost in the many books Shakespeare and Company had to offer. I loved this experience and hope go again very soon!